Gate for dry docks, locks, and the like



Juy 7, 1925.`

' D. E. WILLIAMS GATE FOR DY DOCKS, LOCKS, AND THE LIKE Original Fil'ed July 2a, 1920 Patented July 7, 1925.

UNITED STATES' i 1,544,7emy

PATENT formes.

DAV-ID E. WILLIAMS, OF CLEVELANIL, OHIO; SARA E. `WILLIILAIMIS ADMINISTRATIF/IX OF SAIDADAVID E. WILLIAMS, DECEASED. 'f 5 GATE FOR DRY DOCKS,Y

Locks, ANDTHE LIKE. i

Appnation ined my as, 1920, seriai No. 399,618. neneweanovember 30,1923. f

To all whom it, ma@ concern: l

Be it knownthatI, DAVID E. IILLIAMSy kbeing herein explained and the bestfmode' in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so vas to distinguish it from other inventions. l

The 'present improvements relate moreV ,particularly tok operating kmeans for use in connection with gates. of the so-called pontoon or caisson type, ,such as are used to closedry docks, and. also, in. certain instances, canal locks and the like. The objectsy of the invention include thev provision of operatingv means whereby. such a gate may be easily and quickly swung intoV position either t0l open or to close the dock or lock; the disposition of the gate when open, so as to notinterfere in any wayv with'the movement of a vessel through the gateway and the location of the control of the operation of the gate wholly on shore. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, con-V sists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the anneXed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical Vforms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawing Fig. 1 is a plan view, more or less diagrammatic, of a lock, with gate of the type above referred to, for closing same, andmy present improved operating means for open-Y ing and closingsaid gate ;Fig.2 is a similar transverse section` through the gate,showing same asin closed position; Fig. 3 is aside elevation, on a larger scale, of the main element entering into the construction of thel operating means; and Fig. 4 is a side eleva- 'tion' and part sectionof a detail of such means, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 4 4, Fig. 3. l n i l As reviously indicated, my present im-V prove( .operating means are designed lfor use in connectionv with .the so-called caisson type of gate, which, iny construction, is a hollowL vessely 1,` shown'in cross-section in Fig. y Q, adapted to Vbe supplied with water ballast, whereby its buoyancy may be varied.

' In otherwords, when the gate is to be swunO either `open or shut, the ballastfislightened suflicientlyby pumping out water from the interior-.of the .gate to cause the sameto `loat,..while whenV closed the amount of. ballast is increased until the gate settles under the increased V'weight thus provided, and

rests solidlyon the ,ledge 2 of the dock or lock 3, the ends 4 of the gate at the same time resting against vertical abutments .5 formed .in the side Walls of the dock. The handling of av gate;v offthisl sort, whileapparently simple, has heretofore involved considerable difficulty, owing to the lackiof versa, a` system of cables being required, or. else a tug, in order'to'pull the gate about.

efficient means for controlling its movements from open to shut position, and vice Accordin to my presentinvention, I provide alongitudinally extendingtrack 6 on the 'upper' surf-aceor deck of the gate, such trackv beingy conveniently .formed Vof two angles 7.7, spaced apart soy as to provide in effect a groove orchannel closed at each Q end, such channelterminating short of the end ofthe gate, as shownin Fig. 1. Movable lengthwise of thischanneltrack 6 is a carriage orv trolley 8 that is guided in such vmovement by means of rollers 9 disposed about vertical Iaxes so. as to bear against the 'npstandingflanges of the respective chan-v nels 7, .while rollers 10onhorizontal axes support the weight of the carriage Vin thechannel groove.` i Electrically y,operated brake shoes 11 are kprovided adjacent each such .roller 10 so as to frictionally lockthe same when desired, land thus effectively retain the trolley 8 against movement in the channel track when desired. Rising vertically from the trolley 8Vis a spindle 15 thatis rotatably .journalech as well as ,vertically movable, inA

a bearing 16 in theouter end of a swinging lever17, rotatably'supported on a pedestal 18 on one of ,the side walls ofthe dock 3 or at some other convenient point on the shore.V

The inner end of this lever extendsV beyond the pedestal, and] has attached thereto a suitable counterweightlt, a ball bearing 20 y being provided to facilitate its movement about the axis providedby the pedestal, as also a brake vband 21 whereby it may be locked to Such pedestal and held against such rotative movement when desired.

lt will be observed Vthat theV respective ends of theV gate are symmetrically beveled, and that from the beveled faces thus provided there respectively project screw -pro-l pellers 22, 23, 24 and 25 (see Fig. 1), the shafts or axes 'of said propellers lying at an angle `to the longitudinal axis of the gate. lt' will `be 'observed lthat the beveled faces on the inwardly directed side oi' the gate, whenl the latter is in 'closed position, eX-

tend 'inwardly beyond the side walls oi the dock, and thatthe corresponding pro-v pellers 22 and 23 are located so as to clear such side walls; -also that the propellers 24 and 25 `on the outwardlydirected beveled faces are symmetrically disposed with respect to prop'ellers 22 Vand 23. These propellers are designed to be operated electriated as 'hereinafter described. For the pur? pose oi' operating said propellers, assuming the same to be thus driven by independent motors, suitable electrical connections are carrie'dby means 'of a cable 26 from the shore along the lever 17 to the trolley 8', and thence 'through a series of'contact shoes 27 tol a corresponding series of Contact' strips 28 disposed alongside of and parallel with the 'channel groove 6 in which said trolley moves. These strips, aswell as the contact shoes in question, are covered over by vmeans of a housing 29, save onthe lside adjacent the channel track which is open to allow thesupporting bracket .30 for the shoes the "necessary freedom of movement, as the trolley. travels back and 'forth in said channel track.

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ltis not'deemed necessary to show indetail the connections'fromv the contact strips 28 to the separate motors or other driving means provided 'for independently operating the 'propellers any more than to show such driving means in detail. It will be under- Y stood that the electrical connections carried through cable 2G to the shore are there controlled by suitable switches on` a control panel or box (likewise not shown), whereby current may be supplied to start and stop the operation of the individual propellers,

f at 'the discretion ot the operator.

The manner in which the gate is operated by the above described me'ans'may 'now be briefly set torth. Assuming the gate to be in closed position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, the ballast is of course iirst lightened su'l'liciently to permit said gate to -float, this being accomplished by means of a suitableV pu-mpgor pumps `on the gate, preferably velectrically operated from the control station on the shore, in the same fashion as the propeller-s are operated. lVith the gate in floating condition, the operator thereupon starts `'propeller's 22 and 23, lthe vlever arm 17 being lett freely swinging. As a result the gate will move bodily outwardly from the doek in a more* or less direct line, i. e. parallel with the axis ot the dock, 'the trolley 8 being thus brought to the right-handend or the channel track 6, as the lever swings outwardly with the gate. The position of gate and lever at this stage is that marked A in Fig. 1.

Thereupon the trolley is locked by'sett'ing y `the brakes 11, and propellers 23 Vand V25 are operated, the lever i7 still 'freely swinging about pedestal-18. As a result the vgate tends to move transversely of the anis of the dock, and at the Sametime is swung'outwardly until position B2 Fig. 1, is reached. ll pon now looseningthetrolley in the channel groove, and setting the brake 21 which prevents further swingii'igv movement of the lever 17, propellers 23and 25 being continued in operation', and propellers 22stop'ped the gatemoves longitudinally'of its own axis until the trolley reaches the left-hand end et channel Vtrack 6; whereupon the lever 17- is again lett yfree 'to swing, propellers 24 and are operated, and the gate thus brought successively into positions C and l). ln such last mentioned position the gate rests in a position the counterpart of 'that occupied when closing the dock, but entirely to the right of the latter, a suitable pocket 31 being provided alongside ofthe dock for the reception'ot the gate. f

lVhen it is desired to close the gate, the several steps just described are repeated, but in more or less reverse order, or in other words by setting in motion the vproper .propellers, and properly controlling the set-l ting of the brakes 11 on the trolley and ot the brake band on the pedestal, the gate is brought successively into positions C, B and A, and finally in fully closed position. after which ballast is added sittlicient to again seat the gate inplace.

It will be understood that it is not neces sary ot course to swing the Agate entirely into position l0 in 'order sinliciently to clear the dock tor the entrance or removal ort a vessel therefrom; but that the gate may disclosed inthe drawings and 4hereir'ibei'ore jso lll)

ist

described, it will be'obvious that such move# ment of the lock is effec-ted whollyfrom the shore station, and that a single operator, with the necessary electricalv switches con ven-iently grouped, can accomplish Athe opening. and closingv of the.. gate in desired fashion. l n 1 It will be also understood thatfthe arrangement of propellers, two at each Yend ofl thegate with their atx-es inclined at similar angles, less than a right angie, to the longitudinal axis' of' .such gatekmay be found advantageous, even where other means than lever 17 and trolley 8 are employed to control the movement of the gate, vice versa, such lever and trolley will afford a satisfactory agency for such control irrespective of' whether the dock be shifted in position by means of such propellers or otherwise, for example, by means of cables operated vfrom on shore, or the dock. Y

vOther modes of applying theprinciple of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained,change being ,made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.v v

l therefore particularly point out anddistinctly claim as my invention l. The combination with a gate! of the type in question, of a track extending longitudinallyV of said gate, and a lever pivotal about a fixed station, the free end of said lever having movable connection with said track. Y

2. The' combination with a gate of the type in question, kof a track extending longitudinally of saidgate, ka lever pivotal 'about a fixed station, the free end of said lever having movable'connection with said track, and means adapted to lock said lever against pivotal movement when desired.

3. The combination with a gate" of the type in question, of a track extending longitudinally ofV said gate, a lever pivotal about a xed station, the free end rof said lever having movable connection with said track, and means adapted to lock such free end of said lever against movement along said track.

4. The combination with a gate ofthe type in question, of a track extending longitudinally of said gate, a lever pivotal about a fixed station, the free end of said. lever having movable connection with said track, means adapted to lock said lever against pivotal movement when desired, and means adapted to lock'such free end of said lever against movement along said track.

5. The combination with a gate of the type in question, of a track extending longitudinally of said gate, a trolley movable type in question, of two propellers at each along said track, and a lever pivotal about a fixed station and having its free end attached to said trolley, the latter being both pivotal about a vertical axis and vertically p movable with respect to such lever-end.

6. `The combination with a gate of the' type in-question, of av trackextending longitudinally of said gate, a trolley movable fixed station and having its freeend attached to said trolley, the latter being" both pivotal abouta Vvertical axis and vertically movable with respect to ,such lever-end,

means. radapted to lock vsaid lever.f'fagainstY lalong' said track, a lever pivotal about va type in question, of two propellers at each end of said gate, the axes of said propellers being inclined outwardly, at less than a right angle to the longitudinal axis of said gate. v

'9. The combination Vwith a gate of the type in question, of twovpropellers'at each end of said gate, the axes of said propellers being inclined outwardly at similar angles, less thana right angle, to they longitudinal axis yof said gate.

10. The combination with a gate of the type in question, of two propellers at eachv end of said gate, the axes of said propellers being inclined outwardly, andmeans adapted to'independently operate said propellers. ll. The combination with a gate of the type in question, of two propellers at each end of said gate, the axes of said propellers being inclined outwardly, means adapted to independently operate said propellers, a,

track extending longitudinally of said gate, and a lever pivotal about a fixed station, the free end of said lever having movable connection with said track.

1 l2. The combination with a gate of the type in question, of two propellers at each end of said gate, the axes of said propellers being inclined outwardly, means adapted to independently operate said propellers, a track extending longitudinally ofsaid gate,

a lever'pivotal about a fixed station, the free *l f end of said klever having movable connection with said track, and means adapted to locksaid. lever against pivotal movement when desired.

13. The combination with a gate of the end of said gate, the axes of said propellers being inclined outwardly, means adapted to independently operate said propeller-s, a track extending longitudinally of said gate, a lever pivotal about a fixed station, tlIe i'ree end of said lever having movable `connection with said track, and means adapted to lock such `free end of said lever against move-A independently operate said propellers, a track extending longitudinally of said gate', a lever pivotal about a fixed station,`tlie free end of said lever having movable connection with said track, means adapted to lock said lever' vagainst pivotal movement when .desired, and means adapted to lock such VlI'ree end oiisaid lever against movement along said track. n

Signed by me this 26th day of July, 1920.V

` DAVID E. WILLIAMS. 

